Inspiring Women Magazine Spring 2017

My formal education: I have an undergraduate degree in Chemistry, a master’s degree in
Biostatistics and an MBA. I never worked a paid day as a chemist. I guess I was on to the
rebranding thing early! After college (or university, as it’s called in most other parts of the
world), I was incredibly fortunate to stumble into an amazing “first serious job”; I spent 6 years
doing computer modelling in underwater acoustics and oceanography, primarily as a
consultant to various Navy departments in Washington, DC.
Following that I went to business school in Palo Alto, California. My husband and I were
classmates. He calls it “the most expensive dating service ever.” Peter’s a Canadian. I
convinced him that Bethesda, MD was the financial capital of the US, and he moved to
Washington, DC! Several years later, we got married, several more years and our daughter was
born. We moved to Toronto shortly after.
After moving to Toronto and as a new mother, I became focused on children’s issues. I sat on
the Board of Directors of a local community service agency delivering parent education. From
that dual perspective of parent and board member, I could see a real need for teaching
conflict resolution skills to children when they were young, before the children and the
problems got big.
I developed a drama class for elementary school children, with the conflict resolution skills
“hidden” inside (conflict is what makes drama interesting, but it’s all in how you handle it!).
Before long, I was training the adults who work with children – parents, teachers, coaches,
camp counsellors, mental health professionals, etc. The topic of bullying prevention kept
coming up. At the time, 25 years ago, almost nobody was focused on bullying. Soon, bullying
prevention became my sole focus.
I’ve now been a bullying prevention specialist for over 20 years. My focus is on children’s
bullying prevention, although, I also consult and speak at conferences on adult workplace
bullying. I’ve written five books on children’s bullying prevention and girls’ respect issues. My
Girls’ Respect Groups program (GRG), an after-school program for girls 10-18, is now being
used in 130 countries.
My goal: I want to inspire others to work with me to keep kids (both boys and girls) grounded in
respect for themselves and others, help them build the skills of positive friendships, and teach
them to stand up for one another. When kids – and adults – are grounded in respect, bullying
prevention takes care of itself!
I’ve truly enjoyed each chapter
of life and the previous chapters
prepared me for the next. I’ve
been inspired and guided by
many women who came before
me. I can never repay them. I’ve
tried to pay it forward, especially
to girls and young women,
helping them find their feet
underneath them through some
of life’s challenging chapters.
I’ve been married for 28 years to
my wonderful husband, Peter. He
is in the financial services industry.
He’s been an avid cyclist, a
fitness enthusiast, a reader, and a
man whose curiosity about how
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